Secondary School News

This term has been extremely busy and all the students have settled back into their routines very well after that very refreshing 2 week break in April.

The NAPLAN testing has occurred during this week and some students who were unable to attend on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will be involved in catch-up tests next Monday.

The preparations for the school production, Treasure Island, continue to run smoothly and the booking site is now open. Everyone is very excited about the performances that will take place on the 22nd and 23rd of July.

A reminder to all Year 6 parents to make sure that their secondary preferences for their child are submitted by the end of today even if it is for the same P-12 school. Further information will be forwarded to all parents seeking a year 7 enrolment at Collingwood for 2022 before the end of the term.

Information Evenings and sessions will take place during term 3 so please keep checking emails and notifications on our website.

Congratulations to all those involved in the celebration of the Breaking of the Fast, Ifta, last Wednesday evening. It was a very joyful event and allowed many families to get together and enjoy each other’s company, eat great food and actually be in a space together. This is in sharp contrast to the way we all felt about special occasions last year.

There are further special events coming up so please look out for those notifications too.

Judith Clelland

Assistant Principal

Secondary Education

Farming Camp 2021

On a rainy Sunday morning, with spirits high and smiles wide, Collingwood College’s Year 10 Steiner students set out for Kyabram for their first camp of the year.

After a year of lockdown and remote learning, it was amazing to get out of the hard-set routines and stress that come in conjunction with living in Melbourne. Everyone appreciated the opportunity to get dirty and learn in a physical way.

We slept in sheds present at the Kyabram Showgrounds. This was terribly relieving, as the ground was covered in puddles and we had been expecting to use tents. The crowded sleeping quarters provided a prime location for group bonding.

For the first time since primary school, we had access to a kitchen. We had an oven, stove and lots of space for food storage. It was a nice break from our usual camp meal preparation—small groups, having to bring all our own food, and cooking on a trangia. It also meant we had lots of apple crumble!

I’m on the top rung of a ladder, head in an awkward position so as not to let an unfortunately placed branch scratch me. My bag bulging up against my stomach—it’s pulling me forward and messing with my balance. There’s not a pear in reach. I feel my mouth twitching up at the corners. When I look back over my memories of camp, this is what I remember—picking pears with Lynton at Greenwood Orchards. It was a little terrifying on the ladders, but the work was extremely satisfying and very fun.

Rather than putting nutrients, such as nitrogen, into the soil through the use of fertilizers, Biodynamic farmers find natural ways to complete the same action. Through this, Biodynamic farming creates a healthier ecosystem than Conventional farming. Additionally, it means the nutrients are better absorbed by the plants. Many of the farmers we visited demonstrated this method through planting vegetation they had no intention of harvesting around that which they did. Some also used crop rotation. Ultimately, this form of farming is shown to yield better quality produce.

While we were grading fruit at Gecko Woods with Zoe and Mark, I observed just how much could not be sold or had to be sold at a greatly discounted price. While some of this fruit was actually spoilt beyond consumption, a lot was simply undesirable to consumers due to deformities and blemishes. This saddened me. And I know I’m partially to blame—Even at the shop, once the produce has already been graded and I’ve likely been viewing the best, I know I’ve discounted the quality of products that didn’t appear perfect. Luckily, in this case, the ‘throw-out’ produce was fed to livestock. But it makes me wonder as to the end destination for low-graded fruit on other farms. I know I’ll be a little more mindful of this when picking out fruit and vegetables in the future.

Before this camp, I didn’t really think through the various journeys that my food might be taking before arriving at the shops and in my stomach. But now, having participated in some of the associated processes, I am aware of just how much work is involved in bringing any one product to Melbourne. The process of a simple apple is very lengthy—there’s the sweaty picking, placing the fruit softly into bags; the grading, choosing the best fruit from massive crates; and the packing, making sure each box contains just the right weight. And then there’s everything we didn’t even try—pest control, pruning, maintenance of soil, spraying of 500 and distribution of the various other biodynamic formulas. Farming is a very complicated process!

Before undertaking this camp, my views of Biodynamic farming were a little sceptical. Although I am still not 100% certain that every associated process works, I can certainly see the benefits of most. No matter the effectiveness of every component, I can say that every Biodynamic farm we visited yields great products. I have never had better fruit or stronger garlic! My advice would be to, if sceptical of biodynamic farming, do your own research on the topic.

Thank you Ben, Anne and John Phillips; Lynton Greenwood; Mark and Zoe Staywell; and Paul Robertsen for showing us around your farms. It was a great experience!

Written by Amalia Tadday 10C

Bug Blitz Year 7 Incursion

On Monday the Year 7s explored our local ecosystem for their classification unit with Bug Blitz.

Bug Blitz was really fun, except I didn't like the bones. My favourite part was learning about the spiders and holding them. My favourite spider was Teddy the Mountain Huntsman and I liked the spiny leaf insects.

Bella 7B

I really enjoyed learning about birds and how they sound and looked like. I think it was a great learning task and I would definitely do it again.

Boston 7B

Top 3 favourite things that happened with bug blitz:

1. I loved the birds they are very cool.

2. I loved seeing the redback

3. I loved all the bones they are very cool.

Tauwhitu 7B